“Bill’s immense talent, intellect and raw convictions are an extremely rare combination in television and exemplify why ‘The O’Reilly Factor’ has been the number one program in cable news for more than a decade, FNC chairman and CEO Roger Ailes said in Tuesday’s announcement.

“‘The Factor’ takes pride in holding people accountable and I especially look forward to the exciting news cycle ahead,” O’Reilly added in a statement.

O’Reilly joined FNC in 1996, first hosting “The O’Reilly Report,” which was re-named “The O’Reilly Factor” when it moved to primetime in 1998. According to Nielsen Media Research, the show has ranked No. 1 at 8 p.m. among cable news shows for 136 consecutive months, and the most-watched program in all of cable news for 125 consecutive months, currently averaging 4.5 million viewers daily.

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